Pune win clash of new teams

	Mohnish Mishra's charge on Muttiah Muralitharan led Pune to victory © Associated Press Enlarge

A fluctuating game between the two new teams in the tournament ended with Pune Warriors at the top of the table and Kochi Tuskers Kerala near the other end. The unheralded Paul Valthaty had played a blinder to win the first game of the day for Kings XI Punjab, and it was another low-profile player, Mohnish Mishra, who sealed the game for Pune with an unruffled 37 in a close finish at the DY Patil Stadium.

For the second game in a row, Mahela Jayawardene was let down by the bowling in the death. Raiphi Gomez had been taken for three sixes by AB de Villiers in the 18th over of Kochi's opening match to win it for Bangalore; today, with Pune's main batsmen dismissed and 20 needed off 13 balls, Ravindra Jadeja was hammered for a straight six by Rahul Sharma, before Mishra clubbed Muttiah Muralitharan for a four and two sixes over the leg side in five deliveries to grab victory.

Pune had been galloping to victory when Robin Uthappa played a typically powerful cameo. Uthappa had started with an assured reverse-sweep off Murali first ball, and looked in great touch, sprinting to 30 off 11 deliveries, including a monster hit over wide long-on off Murali that was perhaps the biggest six of the tournament. His cavalier attempt at another reverse-sweep, though, ended with him being bowled, and Wayne Parnell's run-out an over later evened the match as Pune slumped to 118 for 6.

That was one of the many twists the game took. Kochi began badly as, for the third match in a row, there was a wicket off the first ball: Alfonso Thomas dismissed Brendon McCullum with a swinging delivery that was nicked to the wicketkeeper. Wayne Parnell then nailed two experienced batsmen, VVS Laxman and Mahela Jayawardene, and left Kochi hobbling at 24 for 4.

Kochi, however, showed the depth in their batting with Jadeja and Hodge launching a fightback. Jadeja came out swinging, hitting three boundaries in his first over, while Hodge was more circumspect. Jadeja swung a couple of sixes over midwicket off the spinners to bring up the 50 partnership, after which Hodge also played his shots.